


Reunion

by rubyofkukundu



Category: Original Work
Genre: First Time, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Old Friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-23
Updated: 2010-02-23
Packaged: 2017-12-07 04:30:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/744272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubyofkukundu/pseuds/rubyofkukundu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two school friends meet 25 years later.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 89 minutes for the prompts: Best Friends and Strangers.
> 
> Originally posted here: <http://petitte-soeur.livejournal.com/93621.html>

They meet in a queue at the petrol station. Ian doesn't even notice him until there's a hand waving right in front of his nose and he hears someone calling his name.  
  
Ian focuses in on the hand, and the owner. It takes him a few seconds to recognise the face, but then he does.  
  
"Greg!"  
  
Greg laughs and slaps Ian on the arm. "Long time no see, eh?"  
  
  
After they've both paid for their petrol, they decide to reconvene in the local pub. They've got lots to talk about.  
  
Ian is surprised, really pleasantly surprised to see Greg again. He hasn't seen him for, what, 25 years now? Not since he was 16 and he and his parents had moved all the way up to this godforsaken place.  
  
"Jesus Christ, Greg," says Ian, once they've finally managed to get over the surprised exclamations and the excitement of seeing each other again, "what on Earth are you doing here?"  
  
"I'm going to a conference in town," says Greg, giving a mock sigh. "It's not that interesting, but it gets me out of the office."  
  
The conversation falls naturally onto the subject of jobs and what they're each up to. Ian finds out that Greg is now working in marketing for some company or another, which is crazy because Ian knows just how little work Greg used to do at school and how the teachers all used say that he would never amount to anything. When Greg asks about Ian, Ian grudgingly tells him about how he works as an accountant, and wishes it sounded more exciting.  
  
But Greg just laughs. "Not too shabby. You must be rich then!"  
  
Ian laughs in return. "Not quite."  
  
Then Ian listens as Greg goes on to talk more about the conference he's attending. Something to do with the use of a new kind of software, or something, but Ian's not really paying attention, because he's too busy searching Greg's face for signs of the friend he once knew.  
  
Greg's changed, as they both have, but he still manages to look younger than Ian probably does. Greg's a bit larger in the upper body than he was as a skinny teenager, and his face looks a little more weathered now; the cheekbones more pronounced, and the hint of laughter lines emerging from behind the frames of his fashionable thick-rimmed glasses, but he's still the same. The same thick dark hair and the same smile that had the all girls at school following him around.  
  
"So," says Ian, almost without thinking, "you married?"  
  
Greg exhales a little, and his eyebrows arch apologetically. "I was," he says, "Divorced 4 years ago now, but look," he reaches into his back pocket, pulls out his wallet and hands Ian a photo. "That's my daughter," Greg says proudly, "Alice."  
  
Ian laughs. "She looks a lot like you!"  
  
Greg grins as he puts the picture away. "Don't tell her that! She's 15 now and hates anything that might suggest she's similar to her parents!"  
  
Greg laughs again, imagining a mini-Greg in a skirt, but he stops when Greg says, "What about you? Are you married?"  
  
For a second, Ian wonders what to say, but then he remembers that he's not an unsure 16 year-old boy anymore. He's been out and proud of it for years. "I had a partner," he says, "for 10 years, but we split up 2 years ago. I've not really been able to settle since."  
  
Greg's frowning, and trying not to look curious. "Partner? You mean…?"  
  
Ian smiles at Greg's hesitancy. "I'm gay," he says.  
  
Greg tries to suppress his shock; it's cute, in a way, to see him so flustered.  
  
"Oh," says Greg, "I didn't realise…"  
  
Ian laughs at him. "Don't worry about it. I hardly even realised it myself, when we were back at school. It took me a while to work things out."  
  
"Ah," says Greg, staring down at his pint, mind obviously whirring. Ian can't blame him; they were so close back at school that they thought they knew everything about each other. Of course something like this is going to be a shock.  
  
"It's hard, isn't it," says Greg after a while, "when a long-term relationship breaks down. I felt empty for the longest time."  
  
"Yeah," agrees Ian.  
  
"Still," says Greg, suddenly smiling again, "there's something to be said for being free and single!" and he clinks Ian's pint with his own.  
  
The conversation steers away from the serious after that. They finish catching up on what they've both been doing in the whole 25 years since they last saw each other, and once they've exhausted that subject, they move on to other things, talking about anything and everything, and laughing and joking like no time has passed at all.  
  
Soon enough, it's time for them both to go home, but not until they've confirmed that Greg's going to be in town for the next week and Ian's invited Greg to his house for dinner the next day. "After all," says Ian, "they've got you stuck in a hotel at the moment, right? That can't be fun."  
  
  
So, the next day, Greg's waiting on Ian's front doorstep with a grin and some expensive-looking bottles of real ale. Ian gives him a tour of the house while the food's cooking, and Greg makes jokes about how Ian really must be rich like he had thought.  
  
"If you think I'm rich now," says Ian, "just wait till you see my summer home in the south of France!" The look of surprise and jealousy that dawns on Greg's face is priceless; Ian lets it linger there for a few moments until he says, "Of course I don't own a summer home in France, you arse! I can hardly afford the mortgage on this place!"  
  
Greg swears at him, playfully, and laughs, and the two of them hardly stop laughing all through dinner. It really is just like they were back at school again.  
  
It's odd, thinks Ian; spend too long away from someone and you forget them, forget why you were friends in the first place, but as soon as you get back together again, it all comes flooding back. Ian remembers why he and Greg were such good friends now, and it's like nothing has changed. He doesn't want to forget for a second time, so he's determined that they'll keep in contact once Greg's conference is over.  
  
Once dinner has been eaten, they sit and chat for ages. Ian had thought that they'd watch a film or something, but he finds there's just no time when there's so much to say, and the DVD player lingers half-ready, switched on but empty.  
  
So they continue on with the laughter and the jokes and the banter for a while, until some point later when Ian goes into the kitchen to get them drinks and comes back out to find Greg absently flicking through one of the men's health magazines that's lying on the coffee table.  
  
Ian says something, and hands Greg his drink, but Greg doesn't really respond, just looks thoughtful for a while.  
  
Then, after a few minutes, Greg says, "Did you ever used to, you know, think about me in _that way_ back at school?"  
  
Ah, thinks Ian, that old chestnut. For some reason, it always comes up. Guys always seem to think that just because you're gay, you can't be perfectly normal friends with someone of the same gender without wanting to get into their trousers. Ok, so, admittedly, maybe Ian did find Greg a little attractive, and maybe he had indulged himself in a mild fantasy every now and again, but Greg was so straight that Ian had never even considered him to be anything other than a friend.  
  
Ian considers telling him the whole truth, but in the end he just settles for, "Well, you were so busy getting into Annie Smith's knickers that you weren't worth my time!"  
  
Greg laughs at that, and they chat on as normal for a while, but after a few minutes, Greg grows slightly thoughtful again, and he asks, "What's it like?"  
  
Ian frowns at him. "'What's it like?' What's it like, what?"  
  
"Er, I mean," Greg flushes a little, "what's it like, being gay?"  
  
Ian can't help but laugh at him for that. "What do you mean, 'What's it like being gay?' I can't really answer, I'm afraid. What do you want me to say? I could ask you 'what's it like being straight?'"  
  
Greg chuckles and flushes further. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I just thought… I… Well, I was just curious," he says. "I've never had sex with another man."  
  
Ian smiles at him. "No problem." He turns to face Greg on the couch. "So, what is it about being gay that you want to know?"  
  
"Ah, nothing, says Greg. "It's just that I…" he stops and looks down at his beer, "I thought I might like to give it a try."  
  
Ian stares at him. Did Greg really just say what he thought he did? 'Chase anything with a skirt, straight as you like' Greg?  
  
"And," continues Greg, "I thought you might be able to help me try it out."  
  
Ian nearly stumbles over his own astonishment. For a few seconds he's stunned to silence, but eventually he manages to say, "Are you propositioning me, Greg?"  
  
And Greg's cheeks are darker than ever when he looks up at Ian and says, "Yes."  
  
Ian considers backing away and saying 'no'. He's wary about getting into relationships with friends, especially if they're straight and likely to freak out if things start getting too heavy. But then, he thinks, Greg really does seem kinda serious, and he hadn't seen him for 25 years before yesterday, so what's he got to lose?  
  
Ian smiles at his friend. "Sure," he says, "I'll help you try it out."  
  
Greg smiles in return, then looks confused for a moment. "So, don't we need some lube or something?"  
  
Ian can't help but laugh. "Hold your horses! Your first homosexual experience and you think I'm going to bugger you into next Tuesday?" He leans in to kiss Greg and feels Greg's lips trembling beneath his own. "No," says Ian, "right now, we're going to take it slow."  
  
  
When Greg leaves to drive back home at the end of the conference, Ian's left with a phone number, an email address, and the date of Greg's next visit for his trouble.  
  
With a smile, Ian can't help but think that this might be the start of a beautiful friendship.


End file.
